Category: OPINION

Viewpoint by Major General Dalvir Singh*

JODHPUR, India (IDN-INPS) – Major Siddharth Chatterjee, Sena Medal (Retd), who served under my command in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990, has recently been appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.

Major Chatterjee was a decorated and highly valued member of my team, who served with honour, distinction and epitomized the credo of the Indian Army, “service before self”.

Recently a blogger, who runs a blog out of the UN in New York, has hurled scurrilous, unfounded and mendacious accusations of human rights violations against Chatterjee. Major Chatterjee was a star member of my battalion, the 10th Para Special Forces, and at no time was my battalion or any member of my unit ever involved in any form of human rights violation.

By Kavi Chongkittavorn* | Reproduced courtesy of The Nation

BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – After China’s Premier Li Keqiang outlined his new policy approach in front of ASEAN members in Bandar Seri Begawan in October 2013 – known as the “two plus seven” cooperative framework – nobody predicted it would then be shelved.

Only in recent months have China’s comprehensive initiatives been revisited by ASEAN members. In Vientiane, senior officials from China and ASEAN are currently taking stock of developments and achievements since China attended the first ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. They have another week or so to prepare for a joint statement to commemorate the 25th anniversary of relations.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – After 52 years of fighting between the Colombian government and FARC, the left wing, drug-dealing, Marxist, guerrilla grouping, there is a peace agreement.

I’ve always wondered why the U.S. and NATO never intervened militarily. They should have if they were to be consistent. Colombia has long been exhibit A for those who say, “Look what happens when the outside world doesn’t intervene – the local fires just burn brighter and fiercer”. (And it has been said likewise for Sri Lanka during its civil war.)

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Politicians have it in their DNA to hype our supposed present dangers. So do journalists. So does the military-industrial complex. So do certain think tanks and university professors who depend on sounding the alarm about this and that to gain grants from foundations.

When Leon Panetta was defence secretary under President Barack Obama he was not atypical when he said that any defence cuts would undermine the military’s “ability to protect the nation” and reductions would “invite aggression”.

Viewpoint by Dr. Saeb Erekat*

JERICHO (IDN | PNN) – Israeli government officials have announced further measures against nonviolent actions by civil society. During the First Intifada, the Israeli occupation authorities deported non-violent activists and tried to prevent any peaceful demonstration against the imposed and oppressive policies.

Nowadays, Israel, with some international support, is trying to quash a growing solidarity movement with the Palestinian cause for freedom and independence.

Viewpoint by Prof Muhammad Yunus*

DHAKA (IDN-INPS) – We are living in a time of unparalleled prosperity, fuelled in part by revolutions in knowledge, science, and technology, particularly information technology. This prosperity has changed the lives of many, yet billions of people still suffer from poverty, hunger, and disease. And now, food, oil price and financial crises have combined forces to bring even greater misery and frustration to the world bottom 3 billion people.

Sadly, however, we saw headlines reporting news of a sort many people assumed we would never experience again: skyrocketing prices for staple foodstuffs like grains and vegetables (wheat alone having risen in price by 200 percent since the year 2000); food shortages in many countries; rising rates of death from malnutrition and undernourishment; environmental threats to agricultural production; even food riots threatening the stability of countries around the globe.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The announcement was made on August 15 by Japan’s Finance Ministry: In the last quarter of the year the Japanese economy grew at an annualised rate of 0.2%. “One wonders if the economy will remain at a standstill for the rest of the year”, the Financial Times asks.

But then Japan’s economy has been becalmed for 30 years. Even though the government has poured billions of dollars into the economy it has had only a small effect in boosting demand.

One wonders when the government will give up and what happens then – another decade of minimal growth? If that is what happens how much does it matter?

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – How far behind the West is China? Is its economy still booming so it could within 20 years overtake America? Is its military becoming of such a strength it will take the big decision to confront the U.S. navy in the South China Sea?

While it is obvious that the Chinese leadership is much more farsighted and cautious than, say, Donald Trump, can one conclude with 100 % certainty that potentially dangerous clashes won’t occur?

The communist leadership believes that before long it will be the world’s biggest economy. Yet if one looks at national income per head it is way down the league table of economic achievers. Size is not everything.

Viewpoint by Dr. Teruo Hirose *

TOKYO (IDN) – Under the influence of my father, who was a post-war liberal in Japan, senator, Vice-Minister of Education and Parliamentary Secretary when Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1952, I also aimed to become a diplomat to bring about peace in the societies of the world. However, I soon began to aspire to becoming a physician, which I saw as a profession that could save more lives than just one person. SPANISH | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

Following are excerpts from a statement ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes delivered on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, at the 14th session of the Conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIV) on July 21, 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Since its establishment in 1964, UNCTAD has been the appropriate forum to ensure a comprehensive dialogue between developed and developing countries on trade and development and interrelated issues.